Fiona Mactaggart

Fiona Margaret Mactaggart (born 12 September 1953) is a British politician and former primary school teacher who has been chair of the Fawcett Society since 2018. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Slough from 1997 to 2017.

Early life and career

Mactaggart was educated at the independent Cheltenham Ladies' College. She read for a BA in English at King's College London, an MA at the Institute of Education and a PGCE at Goldsmiths, University of London. While at university, she was an outspoken member of the Young Students and Socialists Society and sought to live down her school days at Cheltenham Ladies' College.

Mactaggart was vice-president and National Secretary of the National Union of Students from 1978 to 1981. She was Press and Public Relations Officer for the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) for six months before being General Secretary of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants from 1982 to 1987. She was a primary school teacher in Peckham from 1987 to 1992, noting "I have a voice that children can hear at the other end of the playground".

She was elected to Wandsworth Council in 1986 to represent the Shaftesbury ward and was Leader of the Labour Group from 1988 to 1990, when she lost her seat. From 1992 to 1997, she was a lecturer in Primary Education at the Institute of Education and Chair of Liberty, the civil liberties rights pressure group. While a primary school teacher, she decided to become an MP, as being able to change the world "thirty kids at a time" seemed too slow for her. She is a feminist.

Parliamentary career

Mactaggart was elected as Labour MP for Slough in 1997. She was selected to stand for election for Labour through an all-women shortlist. From May 2003, until she asked to leave her post in the 5 May 2006 Cabinet reshuffle, she served at the Home Office as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Criminal Justice, Race and Victims.

In 2004, Mactaggart attracted criticism for a reluctance to condemn violent protests by Sikhs which led to the cancellation of the play ''Behzti'' at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Around a thousand protesters stormed the production, set in a temple, at the opening of the curtain. Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Mactaggart said: "I think that when people are moved by theatre to protest, in a way that's a sign of the free speech which is so much part of the British tradition. I think that it's a great thing that people care enough about a performance to protest". Mactaggart also suggested the play and its author would benefit from the violent protests, adding that the controversy was "a sign of a lively flourishing cultural life".

In November 2008, Mactaggart attracted criticism for using unreliable statistics during a parliamentary debate on prostitution. Mactaggart was asked how those criminalised by a new law were supposed to know if a prostitute had been trafficked or not. She replied "I think they can guess... something like 80% of women in prostitution are controlled by their drug dealer, their pimp, or their trafficker." When questioned on her claim she stated that it "came from an official Government publication into prostitution and the sex trade". However, a BBC
...